The title of this was going to be "Classic Gaming is Dead, Officially", but I wouldn't want to step on any toes of anyone who has a totally different experience from me, etc. I'd encourage hearty debate here, so feel free to debate and leave a comment in this or PM me here if you feel I left something out and I'll attempt to respond or point/counter-point.

I've done the research, and so have a few of my local peers and amongst my blogs-o-cube friends, (i.e. on another website & in another castle), and after some surveying and exhaustive number crunching.. I've come to the same grim conclusion as them..

Classic Gaming in USA is D-E-A-D. DEAD as a door nail or obliterated zombie dead.
Again, the caveat: At least, as far as I and many of my peers can tell.

Hey, I'm just the messenger, not the originator. Y'see, here are some of the facts.

A) The classic gaming expos/conventions of years past are all but disappeared. (Everywhere except some still going on strong near the Great Lakes/Ohio Valley area, or, in the largest of cities/East/West Coast) Or, in the case of the last time a local expo was held near me, even though it was free, there were almost no turnout. Even sponsors of the event pulled out and left halfway through... FAIL#1

B) New attempts at trying to capture classic gold, (in the form of classic arcade games) have either stalled, or outright failed with one exception: Nintendo Virtual Console. Besides there being 1 or 2 exceptions to this, (Bionic Commando should be Awesome, we shall see), it seems now and for the foreseeable future: no one (except the aforementioned exception(s)) wants to focus on classics in their new console offerings.

XBox live hasn't had any new classics in months.. When they did re-issues (Tron/Discs of Tron was the last one, me thinks) complaints and rabble 'rousing are heard throughout the community about how the new updates to/in the game doesn't feel the same, look the same, etc... FAIL#2

C) Kids today are being raised in a minimum 3D game world level, and are taught by their peers to be more consumerist and fickle when it comes to the classics. Unless they are given nothing besides an older console, (as a hand-me-down or whatnot) they don't embrace any of the classic stuff, (Pac-Man, Defender, Dig Dug, Gyruss, Galaga & Many other of the Konami, Namco, Atari, or Midway games)...FAIL#3

D) Arcades, while still in existence, are not offering most of the older games (unless, well, it is a 'museum' now..)... FAIL#4

E) When is the last time you actually played in a classic game tournament.

Unfortunately, I can go on and on, since I have data here to prove the point more. But, I won't ramble on that anymore, I'd much rather focus that energy on how we can save the wonderful pasttime that is classic gaming, and help the younger generation understand why these retro games are so important/valuable. I mean, today the famous Konami code, Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start doesn't help a new game much, but, there was a time when it did help to make a player feel like a virtual god. Old games may be old, but the gameplay was real, (while in some ways remaining almost unchanged in many games today), and even if there aren't any more fans or adopters of the classics, may whatever fun is left to be had continue and keep on strong in retro havens such as RetroForce, Digital Press, and all the rest.

Retrose Tinted? Or, just the fact that retro games taught many of us adults what real gameplay and originality is all about. Either way, I'll still remember "real games" even if many others today don't or won't even acknowledge.

Also, classic games never die, they just go into emulation!